The invention relates to a hinge, in particular a single-axis or axle hinge, having a hinge arm mountable on a wall of a furniture unit, and at least one hinge pot connected to a door of the unit and rotatably connected to the hinge arm, the hinge pot having a recess or interior into which an inner coupling member may be inserted and in which the latter is releasably anchorable by means of a locking member acted on by a spring.
Such hinges are used in particular in the construction of office, organizational and functional furniture. They are used as corner and twin hinges, i.e. hinges to which two doors are joined. In general, they are made as single-axis hinges, but success is not to be restricted thereto.
In the case of conventional hinges, a baseplate is secured to a side wall of the furniture unit when the latter is assembled. A hinge pot is set in the door and is connected to the actual hinge arm via an articulated spindle or four articulated spindles and two articulated levers. In the final assembly, the hinge arm is placed on the baseplate, which is mounted on the side wall of the furniture unit, and is connected thereto. The position of the door can be adjusted by relative displacement of the position of the hinge arm with respect to the baseplate. In general, conventional hinges provide the possibility of adjustment in the direction of the width of the furniture door joint and the depth of the furniture unit. In some cases, height adjustment is also possible.
Hinges of the type mentioned at the outset differ from such conventional hinges in that the hinge arm is secured directly to the side wall of the furniture unit, for example is screwed thereto. This has the advantage that the hinge can be kept very narrow, and further space is saved by the omission of an additional baseplate. As a result, the entire width of the furniture unit may be used to the optimum, this being particularly useful, for example, with index card files or the like.
With such hinges, two-part assembly also is known, i.e. the hinge arm is secured to the side wall of the furniture unit and a hinge pot is set in the door. When the door is finally hung, the hinge pot is connected to the hinge arm via a coupling member jointed to the hinge arm. In the case of conventional hinges, this is done by means of a clamping screw.